Here is a recent article I (Kevin) wrote for our church's newsletter. I share it because it spells out why we have entitled our family blog "Testifying", and why we want to dedicate not just our blog, but our lives, to this very task.
My family just spent a wonderful mini-vacation in the northern part of the lower peninsula of Michigan. Just off the road, near my in-laws cottage, my wife and I observed leaves on a tree that had already begun to change color. Being that it was the early part of August, we were both drawn to the beauty of this apparent anomaly. As we moseyed down the road my wife and I mused over the fact that in the not too distant future we will join countless others in being autumn “leaf peepers”. That is, we will seek to be enthralled by the magnificent colors that will soon blanket the forests of the Midwest.
I don’t mean to jump the gun and talk about fall colors so soon. But, just as change occurs to leaves in the fall to bring about the stunning colors that all of us enjoy, and should lead us to praise God. So, too, supernatural change occurs in the lives of people, when by God’s grace alone, people place their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. This, too, is done to the praise of God. In Ephesians 2, Paul discusses this wonderful saving work that occurs by God’s grace. Paul writes, “…even when we were dead in our trespasses, (God) made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved … (v.5), and later he adds, “…so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (v. 7).” What a thought! God puts us on display, not for our glory, but for His glory, which is due to the “immeasurable riches of his grace toward us in Christ.”
The work of grace in a person’s life is infinitely more beautiful and glorious than the temporary change that colorful leaves bring to trees in autumn. This is why when we gather together as a church although we may mention the beauty of God’s creation we don’t spend a lot of time focusing on it, the creation. Instead, we focus on the Creator, God, and testify to the gospel of His grace, for it is the gospel of God’s grace that changes lives for eternity. The idea of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace comes from Paul as recorded by Luke in Acts 20:24: “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
The word testify in Acts 20:24 has been on my mind a lot lately. What does it mean to testify to the gospel of God’s grace? Well, I believe Paul’s life exhibited what it means. He constantly wrote and preached about the gospel, which is the gracious gift of God. There is not one letter written by Paul that does not mention the word grace, and of course, he went beyond the standard greeting of “grace and peace to you” to elaborate on what grace means in many of those letters. Why was Paul so transfixed on the idea of grace? That is an easy one. It is because Paul experienced the wonderful benefits of God’s grace. Paul was headed to hell, albeit as a very religious Pharisee, with great intentions. Yet, Paul would be the first to tell us that if it was not for God’s grace, He would be in the company of those who will gnash their teeth for eternity as justice for sinning against Almighty God. Paul was fully aware of what he deserved, and he recognized that it was solely God’s grace, and not any of Paul’s good works that saved him.
Another word that begins with t has also been on my mind a lot, and it also relates to grace. It is the word training. In Titus 2:11-12, the apostle Paul writes, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age…” What is it that makes us more and more like Christ? It is the incessant work of grace in our lives that trains us to be more like Him. I hope these words of Paul will bring encouragement to your heart as they have to mine.
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